FEMA housing numbers drop

May 7, 2013

The number of temporary housing units still occupied in Ward County has fallen to 291, the Federal Emergency Management Agency reported Monday.

The count is down from 476 in February and from 1,925 in December 2011. More than 2,000 households have lived in FEMA housing since the June 2011 flood.

There are 21 FEMA units still on private property in the Souris Valley, down from a high of nearly 1,100. In addition 14 units are still occupied at DeSour Valley Heights in Burlington and 220 are occupied at Virgil Workman Village, just east of Minot. The remaining 36 occupied units are at Holiday Village in Minot.

FEMA continues its sale of the units to current residents. As of May 2, FEMA had finalized 96 sales. Purchasing the unit they are living in is one of several options that displaced residents have in securing permanent housing. FEMA continues to meet with residents on a monthly basis to assist them with developing a long-term housing plan, and those meetings will continue until FEMA's housing mission concludes.